WEB (webbed, webbing)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected forms: webbed    , webbing   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does web mean? 

• WEB (noun)
  The noun WEB has 7 senses:

1. an intricate network suggesting something that was formed by weaving or interweaving

2. an intricate trap that entangles or ensnares its victim

3. the flattened weblike part of a feather consisting of a series of barbs on either side of the shaft

4. an interconnected system of things or people

5. computer network consisting of a collection of internet sites that offer text and graphics and sound and animation resources through the hypertext transfer protocol

6. a fabric (especially a fabric in the process of being woven)

7. membrane connecting the toes of some aquatic birds and mammals

  Familiarity information: WEB used as a noun is common.

• WEB (verb)
  The verb WEB has 1 sense:

1. construct or form a web, as if by weaving

  Familiarity information: WEB used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• WEB (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An intricate network suggesting something that was formed by weaving or interweaving

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Context example:

the trees cast a delicate web of shadows over the lawn

Hypernyms ("web" is a kind of...):

object; physical object (a tangible and visible entity; an entity that can cast a shadow)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "web"):

spider's web; spider web (a web spun by spiders to trap insect prey)

tent (a web that resembles a tent or carpet)

webbing (something forming a web (as between the toes of birds))

Derivation:

web (construct or form a web, as if by weaving)

webby (having open interstices or resembling a web)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An intricate trap that entangles or ensnares its victim

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

entanglement; web

Hypernyms ("web" is a kind of...):

trap (a device in which something (usually an animal) can be caught and penned)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "web"):

spider's web; spider web (a web resembling the webs spun by spiders)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The flattened weblike part of a feather consisting of a series of barbs on either side of the shaft

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

vane; web

Hypernyms ("web" is a kind of...):

blade (a broad flat body part (as of the shoulder or tongue))

Meronyms (parts of "web"):

barb (one of the parallel filaments projecting from the main shaft of a feather)

Holonyms ("web" is a part of...):

feather; plumage; plume (the light horny waterproof structure forming the external covering of birds)

Sense 4

Meaning:

An interconnected system of things or people

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Synonyms:

network; web

Context example:

tangled in a web of cloth

Hypernyms ("web" is a kind of...):

scheme; system (a group of independent but interrelated elements comprising a unified whole)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "web"):

reticulum (any fine network (especially one in the body composed of cells or blood vessels))

espionage network (a network of spies)

old boy network (an exclusive informal network linking members of a social class or profession or organization in order to provide connections and information and favors (especially in business or politics))

support system (a network of facilities and people who interact and remain in informal communication for mutual assistance; a network that enables you to live in a certain style)

Derivation:

web (construct or form a web, as if by weaving)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Computer network consisting of a collection of internet sites that offer text and graphics and sound and animation resources through the hypertext transfer protocol

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

web; World Wide Web; WWW

Hypernyms ("web" is a kind of...):

computer network ((computer science) a network of computers)

Sense 6

Meaning:

A fabric (especially a fabric in the process of being woven)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("web" is a kind of...):

cloth; fabric; material; textile (artifact made by weaving or felting or knitting or crocheting natural or synthetic fibers)

Derivation:

web (construct or form a web, as if by weaving)

Sense 7

Meaning:

Membrane connecting the toes of some aquatic birds and mammals

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Hypernyms ("web" is a kind of...):

membrane; tissue layer (a pliable sheet of tissue that covers or lines or connects the organs or cells of animals or plants)

Holonyms ("web" is a part of...):

webfoot (a foot having the toes connected by folds of skin)

• WEB (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they web    ... he / she / it webs   
Past simple: webbed   
Past participle: webbed   
-ing form: webbing   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Construct or form a web, as if by weaving

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Synonyms:

net; web

Hypernyms (to "web" is one way to...):

tissue; weave (create a piece of cloth by interlacing strands of fabric, such as wool or cotton)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

web (a fabric (especially a fabric in the process of being woven))

web (an interconnected system of things or people)

web (an intricate network suggesting something that was formed by weaving or interweaving)

webbing (a strong fabric woven in strips)

 Context examples 

At my entrance, he called aloud to me, “not to disturb his webs.”

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

LocusLink is a web application from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI).

(LocusLink, NCI Thesaurus)

When I have spun the web they may take the flies, but not before.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He sits motionless, like a spider in the centre of its web, but that web has a thousand radiations, and he knows well every quiver of each of them.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

There are quizzes, games and lots of cool web sites for you to explore.

(Children's Page, NIH)

"If coccolithophores are changing its essential properties, they could be influencing which species grow in food webs as far away as the equator or even in the Northern Hemisphere."

(Study reveals changing patterns in globally important algae, National Science Foundation)

Knowing where, and in how many places, climate change breaks that pathway, she adds, will help us anticipate how it might affect broader ecological processes, like food-web and population dynamics.

(Study considers sensory impacts of environmental change on ocean species, National Science Foundation)

A web site (http://cancernet.nci.nih.gov/) which hosts NCI's searchable clinical trials database containing information on over 1,800 active clinical trials.

(CancerNet, NCI Thesaurus)

Can be used to probe tertiary structure and non-covalent interactions (from NCSU Mass Spectrometry Facility web site)

(Electrospray Ionization, NCI Thesaurus)

Once identified and confirmed, these variants will be put into public databases maintained by NCIBI's dbSNP and CGAP web resources.

(Genetic Annotation Initiative, NCI Thesaurus)